


King Elizabeth I

by AlexanderTemple



Category: Medieval - Fandom, Queen Elizabeth I - Fandom
Genre: Bisley, Crossdressing, England - Freeform, Historical, Imposter, Queen - Freeform, Queen Elizabeth - Freeform, Tudor Era, legend, royal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 08:15:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22332859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexanderTemple/pseuds/AlexanderTemple
Summary: This is the story of Queen Elizabeth I.There is a legend in a small town in England called Bisley that the Queen was not the real Elizabeth. It was an imposter from the village.Read this story about this legend and then you can decide for yourself if it is right.





	1. Bislev

Here I am on my deathbed with not so long to live. I led an eventful life and I will be remembered for a long time. I was probably the most important person alive at my time. History will remember me for good things and bad things. However, they will not tell you the real story. They will only tell you what they know.

This is my story, and it will shock everyone that reads it. I will soon be called to God. It is important for me to remember who I was and under all the make-up and dresses I wear, who I am!

I was born in 1533 in Bisley, which is a charming village in Gloucestershire. Not many people lived here. My name was Neville, and I was an only son. People always noticed my hair, because it was red. I suppose not many had red hair. They say that people with red hair had a temper. I think that suited me fine. It was a fault that I worked a lot with. I simply got mad over the smallest things. Otherwise, I was not a bad boy and usually did what I was told.

My father's name is Henrik and my mother's name is Elizabeth. They are a duke and duchess. We did not live in a huge place. Mom hated big houses. We lived in a manor house. It was much bigger than the cottages in the village, but it was not a palace. We had a huge garden, Mom loved flowers and I could spend all day in the garden.

You can say we were a part of the Royal Family. My father was the illegitimate son of the king. The king never recognized him as a son, but he was made a Duke. This means that even though my dad was the son of the king, he would never be a prince or the king. He never boasted about who his dad was. Some people called my dad a bastard, which I think was very mean. The important thing was that dad was loyal and good friends with the king.

I was a happy boy. My mother told me I was the best thing that ever happened to them. I had a good relationship with both my mom and my dad. Dad was very wise and taught me that people needed someone strong to lead them. I could be a leader or a follower. He hoped that I would be a leader, and help to make the life of people better. A leader had to make tough decisions and must always put people before their needs.

Mom was like a best friend. She always said I had the face of an angel, and not like other boys. I would help her in the garden taking care of the flowers. I liked the flowers as you could see them grow. Even when they faded and lost their beauty, you knew they would come again and visit. Otherwise, I loved when we played hide and seek in the garden.

I knew that I had royal blood in me. I was too young to understand about Royalty. I heard about how the Church of England was established. The king could not get a divorce. I also heard that the second queen was beheaded. The King was old but had 3 children. Princess Mary, Princess Elizabeth, and Prince Edward. Princess Elizabeth was the same age as me. The royal family did not seem to be a family like ours. I heard the king hardly ever spoke to his daughters, and his wives were either divorced or executed.

We heard of executions every week. Dad said that people lived in fear, as one wrong word could cost you your head. This made him happy living in a small village. The Royal family could live in fear and drama. My dad was very loyal and loved England, Still, he preferred to be far away from the political world and not fear for his life.

Education was very important for my parents. This meant that I had lessons every day about history, Maths, Latin, philosophy, and theology. My tutor was very good and very patient and told me that I was one of the best pupils he ever had. I found learning easy and loved learning about new things. There were so many questions that I had, and my temper would show when I had problems understanding things or my questions were not answered. I was proud that I was considered intelligent.

My life changed in the most dramatic way in 1542. I was 9 years old

There was a plaque in London and thousands of people were dying. Plagues were the worse thing that could happen, as there seemed to be no cure. When people found out there was a plague, it would spread fear and gloom. Only death would follow and the sickness could wipe out a family! The plague did not care if you were poor or if you had some fancy title or money and land. It killed everyone despite their status in the country. We were lucky that the plague stayed in London. There were no signs of it in our small village.

I woke up one day and it seemed like any other day. We had breakfast and Dad was telling us what he would do. I knew what I would do, I would be studying and spending all day with my tutor.

So I was in a small room as the tutor was talking about theology when I hear mom screaming. I thought she was hurt. I rushed out and seen mom holding a message.

“She's coming! Princess Elizabeth is coming here!”

The King decided that London was too dangerous for his children and they should live someplace safe. It was decided that Elizabeth would be staying with us. So in the next few days, we cleaned every corner of the house and made sure that Elizabeth's room was fit for a princess. 

I wondered what she would be like. Her mom was executed when she was only 3 years old. This must have been such a loss, losing your mother that way so early. To make it worse she was declared illegitimate! How could her dad even do this? They say that her dad did not even speak with her in years. Did he love her or did he hate the fact that she was a girl?

Princess Elizabeth came and she was not as I thought she would be. She wasn't a princess that demanded and was all stuck up. She was nice and well mannered. She had long red hair that was covered by a head veil. She was the same size as me. She was accompanied by her governess and a man. It was nice having some life in the house.

We played all the time. Elizabeth loved being outside in the garden and running. We quickly became friends and I don't think I ever laughed so much than the days she was here.

One day, we were chasing butterflies. It was like any other day. The sun was shining and there were no lessons. So we were enjoying the time outside and joking and laughing as we ran through the garden looking for butterflies.

Suddenly Elizabeth fell to the ground. The laughing stopped as she mumbled that she did not feel that well. I helped her back to the house, while the governess and her husband helped the princess in the bed.

I was in the corner of the bedroom as they tended to Elizabeth, who was very pale and sweating a lot. I wondered how anyone could be playing at one stage and then suddenly unable to speak or do anything and be confined to bed. The governess was worried as she was saying that the princess was getting warmer and warmer. I did not know what to do, so I fell to my knees. With a tear in my eye, I prayed that my new friend would recover.

Then everything went quiet. Mom gave me a hug and said the princess was dead. Everyone just stood there saying nothing as the princess looked as if she was asleep. I think they were thinking that she would suddenly wake up. This did not happen. Princess Elizabeth was in heaven with her mother!

Mom fell to her knees and was the first to speak. She started crying and said that the king would behead us all because his daughter died. Everyone started talking about it and I could see how serious the discussion was. The King executed people for less. Despite that he showed no love for his daughter, he would blame the people that she was with. The adults were discussing how they could tell the king and at the same time, keep their heads. There seemed to be no answer.

The governess suddenly had an idea. She said that they could replace the princess. They simply had to find a girl the same age with red hair in the town. I was only 9, but I thought this was the strangest idea I ever heard.

There was no girl in the town that could replace Elizebeth. It seemed as if our fate was sealed. I remembered when we buried Elizabeth in the corner of the garden, that the governess was looking at me. This made me feel uncomfortable. I was certain that everyone was standing there thinking about if we would be executed and who would come to our funeral. It made me uneasy that the governess looked at my neck. I could not be blamed for the death of the princess. I did not want her to die. She was a friend!

After the funeral, my parents were arguing with the governess and her husband. The only thing I heard was that they kept saying they could not find a red-haired girl. I also heard my Dad shout several times that it was a bad plan, while mom started crying saying “no”. I went into the garden and sat next to Elizabeth's grave. I only knew her for a few days, but she was so fun to be with and she was the best friend that I ever had.

One of the servants came and told me I was wanted.

The adults were in Elizabeth's room and I was told to strip. Then one of her dresses was lowered over my head and a hair veil was put on me. The governess cut the bangs in the front and then everyone stood there looking at me.

“ I can't believe what I am seeing,” The governess said.

To be continued


	2. Imposter

“ I can't believe what I am seeing,” The governess said

I could not believe it either. I looked in the mirror and could see Elizabeth looking back at me. Needless to say, I was very confused and looked at Dad for an explanation.

“ Our lives are in danger,” he said, “ The princess is dead and we know her father who is the king has a temper. He will behead us all. We need the king to believe that his daughter is alive. We need someone to take her place. We decided that you are the only one to do this. So from now on, you are not Neville, you will be Princess Elizabeth!”

At first, I thought it was a joke or a very bad plan. My parents must have been going crazy. I may look like a princess, but I was a boy. It nearly felt like a sin that I would be living as someone else. Princess Elizabeth was one of the most important people in the country. I would have to convince so many that I was her. Even if I did convince them, I knew that it would be deceit.

They were serious and I spent the next few days being the princess. My old clothes were thrown out and the gravestone on Elizabeth's grave had my name on it. For anyone visiting, it looked as if it was Neville that suddenly died.

It became quite clear to me that I was expected to be the princess for years. I found my mother and cried on her shoulder as I explained that the idea was crazy and it was wrong. Mom agreed and told me that they had no choice. I would soon be going back to the palace. If the King found out that I was not his daughter, many would be executed. I had a big responsibility put on my shoulders!

I accepted this plan and worked hard to be like a princess. This meant I had to be trained from everything on how to walk and sit. I had to learn how girls ate. I even had to learn how girls spoke and what they talked about. I always knew that boys and men had a higher status than women. Now I had to learn that I was a girl and did not have the status that I had when I was a boy.

We went back to the Royal Court. The governess was so happy with what I have learned. She often joked that there must have been a girl hidden in me. Maybe God intended me to be a girl, but I was given a boy's body.

In time, I quickly adjusted to the Royal Life. The governess said that as a princess, the King did not give me lots of clothes or books or toys. He was more interested in the young prince. I did not see the king and saw my brother a few times. Otherwise, things were quite the same as my old life. I would spend a lot of time studying or walking around in the garden.

I did like the dresses that I wore, and I liked it when my hair grew. They would spend a lot of time brushing it. My mom was bought to the Royal Court as my maid. This meant that I did not miss her. It was also good because she was the only one that helped me get dressed or bathed.

A few years went, and I was now Princess Elizabeth. I forgot everything about being a boy. I acted like a princess and thought as one. Of course, deep down I knew that my body was not female. However, my spirit was!

I met the King once. This would be a big test. He was an old man and I felt sorry for him. He was very overweight and it looked like he was in a lot of pain. At first, he was very serious when he saw me. I sat down next to his knee and then started telling him about what my life was like. Then he asked me what I thought about the Church of England, This ended up with the king and me having a very serious conversation. He became less serious and started smiling and laughing more. In the end, I was sitting on his knee.

When it was time for me to go, The king shouted to everyone that he was proud of me. He told everyone that I was charming and intelligent. I was a true Tudor. I found out later that He told everyone that I was no longer considered illegitimate and once again I was his daughter and I was third in line for the crown.

When I was 14, my brother became the King. He was very sick and did not last too long. When he died, My older sister Mary became the Queen. She was hated. This was most likely because she was still Catholic and wanted people to go back to the old faith. Thousands were executed and the country was on the verge of a civil war.

The new Queen my have been my older sister, but she hated me. It didn't help when she could see that the people hated her, and people loved me. I do not know why they loved me. I kept a low profile and every time I was asked to lead a revolt against Mary, I replied no. The Queen married the Catholic King of Spain, and this made her hated more and more.

Mary was so jealous of my popularity, that she locked me in a cell in the Tower. I thought I would die there. I often thought that she would find out my true identity and that would mean a lot of people would be executed. She never did find out and released me after some time.

In 1558, after 5 years as the Queen, Mary died. I was 25 years old and now suddenly found myself as the new Queen of England.

I remember speaking with my mom in private and telling her I had no right to be the Queen. I was an imposter. I was a man in a Queen's dress. Mom disagreed. She insisted I was a Queen with a man's body. This would have to be kept a secret. I had the support of the people and could be a good Queen. I could unite the country and make life easier for the people. I could bring peace to England.

Mom and the governess were assigned as my private maids. This meant no other person was in my chambers when I got dressed or took a bath. The secret was kept in that room.

I hid the fact that I was an imposter. I wore high necklines to hide my Adams Apple, and wigs as I started going bald. I also covered my face in a heavy layer of white make-up to cover and stubble or hair on my face.

I even instructed my mother to spill some blood on my bedsheets once a month so people thought that I had periods.

The romance was harder for me. Everyone wanted to marry a Queen and everyone wanted me to marry and provide an heir to the throne. One friend I met when I came to the Royal palace became my friend. Robert loved me and adored me and to be quite honest, I was in love with him as well. I let him flirt with me, and we even kissed each other. However, we never had sex for obvious reasons. I was known as the Virgin Queen.

As for anyone else that wanted to marry me, I told them that I was married to England. I could not share my love with a man and my country.

The only time I missed being a man was when Spain sent an armada of ships to invade England. I wanted to fight. I wanted to use my sword like kings have done before me and lead the English army. I was told by my advisors that a woman could not go to war. I refused and told them that I would. When the soldiers saw their Queen ready to fight, they could not believe their eyes. I gave them a speech that would go down in history.

“I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonor shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.”

The Spanish fleet did not reach England. A bad storm destroyed them and sent them back to Spain.

It is now 1603, and I have been the Queen for 44 years. For the most, the country has prospered. People have a better standard of living and we have more culture. We have not been in any great war and the country is more united.

I have failed in one area. I have not given the country an heir. My nephew, the King of Scotland will now be the king.

Many will say that I am an imposter. I did not ask to be Elizabeth. I was told to do it. I hope that Elizabeth would have been proud of me, as she looked down from heaven.

**The End**

_Note from Author:_

_“300 years after the supposed death of a young Elizabeth the local Reverend Thomas Keeble was making renovations to Overcourt House in Bisley. He supposedly found an unmarked grave on the grounds with the skeleton of a child dressed in opulent female Tudor clothing inside. He is said to have reburied the body in an unknown location._


End file.
